Home Again

On Tuesday, March 27^th I boarded a plane in Huatulco to begin my journey home. The trip provided a couple of interesting experiences, but I made it safely home. We are staying for the time being with some relatives. I am going to be aggressively looking for employment.

           The last days in Huatulco were busy packing up what I was taking home and disposing of the rest. Two good friends, Art and Betty, have a ministry through which they collect anything you could imagine and distribute it to people in need. It helped a lot and it was satisfying to know that things went to people who needed them.

Saying my good-byes to all of the people who had become close was the most difficult thing I had to do. There were a few tears on both sides, and I am still overwhelmed by the expressions of love I received. A part of my heart remains with them.

Art and Betty rode with to the airport and generously paid for the cab ride. When we arrived, I was met by another friend Eddie (& Irasema) who works for the airline I flew. He called me to the head of the check in line. He had already prepared my boarding passes giving me the choicest seat assignments. Later, he ran out on the tarmac to say good-bye one more time. He also took my carry-on bag, which had to be stowed in the cargo hold because the plane to Mexico City was very small. Again, I didn’t have to wait in line. He treated me feel like a celebrity.

When I boarded the plane to Chicago from Mexico City, I waited to be one of the last ones to get on the plane. My carry-on bag wound up having to be checked because there was no room left in the overheads. No big deal because that meant I wouldn’t have to lug it off the plane and through the airport. When I got to my assigned window seat in the first row of coach, I found it occupied by an older lady. Her husband was in the center seat and the aisle seat was piled high with loose items. They refused to move. He wouldn’t clear the aisle seat for me saying that his property needed to be there. I had to ask the flight attendant to help. I let the older woman her keep my window seat and I took the aisle.

My kindness was repaid double-fold. First, the aisle seat provided more legroom than I needed because there was no wall in front it. Second, I realized that I was not going to have to wait for them to be out of the way when it came time to deplane. This convenience became especially important when I realized that my passport was in my carry-on that had been put below with the other luggage. I would not have access to it until the other side of Immigration. Since there is no getting through Immigration without your passport, I had a potential problem. I didn’t think I would be as successful as Tom Hanks at living in the airport and I didn’t want to try.

As I stood in line thinking about what I was going to say, I saw an officer in front of the desks. I decided to approach him. His response was, “Come with me.” He took me past the desks to the luggage carousel and helped me retrieve by bags. When I handed him my passport, he took me back to the desks and handed the paperwork to an officer who immediately processed it. I didn’t even have to wait in the long line to be checked in. What a blessing!

IT IS GOOD TO BE HOME AND i LOOK FORWARD TO RECONNECTING WITH EVERYONE.